Tomorrow is electric, but not only. It is also safer, self-driving and, at least for heavy vehicles and long-distance journeys, even with fuel cells. Above all, “there will be no new cars without Bosch”, emphasizes Volkmar Denner, the CEO of the German supplier. The Stuttgart company is committed on all fronts. In China, the hydrogen fuel system developed by Bosch will make its debut on a truck, which in the course of 2020 submitted the application for a thousand patents. Research is the heart of the activity which has already invested 5 billion euros on electromobility alone, to which it adds another 700 million this year: after all Denner expects that by 2035 60% of registrations will depend on zero-emission cars .
Bosch is and wants to continue to be in the game, as confirmed by the world’s first charging cable with integrated technology for flexible refueling without a control box. On the scale the system reaches 3 kilograms, equal to 40% less weight than a conventional cable. This innovation is Bosch’s contribution to simplifying sustainable mobility: to be successful among motorists, the electric car cannot depend on overly complicated management. And, in fact, the cable has an adapter that is valid for both type 2 and domestic sockets and therefore a second is not needed to fill up with energy, regardless of the type of column. Bosch talks about “universal charging” and plans to start supplying the new three-phase AC cable up to 22 kW in the second half of 2022.
The company claims its role as an innovation leader and expands its offer in the field of electric mobility within which it is already present with motors, batteries and management services, such as those that improve performance and extend the life of accumulators. . Environmentally friendly solutions are already worth a billion in turnover, naturally growing. Also on the autonomous driving front, rivals have to chase Bosch, which has a 40% share: “And we are growing faster than the market,” assures Denner. The German group has put 5,000 engineers to work on this issue and aims to allow motorists to take their hands off the wheel.
Among the solutions carried out is that of driverless parking, Automated Valet Parking (AVP), developed together with Mercedes-Benz. The S-Class will be the first vehicle to have the systems that make this service possible, approved by the authorities for Stuttgart Airport, the city where both companies are based. Bosch is equipping the facility with the necessary cameras so that vehicles can reach their reserved seats even without anyone behind the wheel. Denner’s estimate is that by 2025 the AVP will be adopted by a thousand car parks.
